The Circle Of Darkness
by Abeham
Summary: -The circle was complete. It was time for darkness to reign- Harry Potter had accepted an interesting case in the muggle world. He had been warned and had planned to deal with the muggle private detective, but nothing could have prepared him for Sherlock Holmes and what came next. 90% chance of Slash (male on male/ maybe threesome). Read Prologue for more details.


**A/N (Important):** This is an idea that has been stirring in my head for a year now. Those of you who are here because of EOPS, I am working on it. This story just kept eating at me until I started writing it. So this is not my priority. My priority is still EOPS. The idea behind this was very different; It started as a Harry as John idea, then became John/Harry/Sherlock; I started reading a lot of Harry/Mycroft between that time, so then I thought of turning it into Harry/Mycroft, but I still like Lestrade/Mycroft. So in short, I have no idea of pairings. This starts from an EWE Harry Potter world and then completely moves into Sherlock. It starts from season 1 (which will begin from chapter 1), and I will be taking it from there episode by episode. I am going to try and give an episode per chapter, until I am done with Sherlock and move into my own story that is running in background; as I tend to do, as seen by EOPS. So if you are interested, read and let me know.

 **Warning 1:** There will most likely be **SLASH** in this story (90%). It could be M/M/M (I like it). There is definitely going to be M/M, but I will mark those areas, so if you want to skip them you can. **Slow updates and very, very slow romance.** The slash might not come until really later, I might just not make it any pairing.

 **Warning 2:** I don't have a beta. I proof read myself, so I end up missing some errors.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, neither do I own Sherlock (I wish). They belong to J.K. Rowling and Conan Doyle.**

* * *

 **Prologue:** **World's collide**

 _-Ministry of Magic-_

Harry Potter sat at his desk, head buried in his hands while he tried to ignore the throbbing pain erupting from his leg. He knew that Kingsley would not be happy over the fact that he had decided to come to work when he was supposed to be resting but he could not stand it anymore.

Ginny had come over for the spring holidays and had been nagging him about his irresponsibility and carelessness. He could not help it if the bad guys always decided to get him out of the equation first because of how powerful he was. Idiots. Instead of starting from the weak link, they always decided to go after him first. They always lost; but they did manage to beat him up a little this time around.

"Harry?"

The questioning tone had him looking up from his hand to see Ron, his partner for more than 3 years and his best friend for more than 15, standing at the door with a frown on his face.

He knew what was going to happen, and he cut in before he could hear any more of it,

"Ron, please. I am losing my mind sitting at home and listening to Ginny and Molly scold me like a five year old over how stupid I am. It's not my darn fault! I needed to get out mate before I lost my bloody mind."

Harry shoved his face back in his hands so that he would not have to look at his friend any more. He barely heard the sigh that left the other man as he moved around the small office the two shared and sat at his desk. The sound of the chair being dragged was followed by the thumping of an object hitting the wall on his left.

Harry being the senior of the two sat in the desk across from the door, Ron had a table on his right, attached to the wall. The room was smaller than most, but still better than what the other Aurors had to deal with. Harry had faced a lot of discrimination at first, because of his continuous promotions. Many Aurors had accused him of using his so called fame to get to where he was. The rumours were soon put to rest when another team of aurors joined them for a collaborative mission. They had seen first-hand how vicious and powerful Harry was, and had made it their duty to inform everyone how much Harry deserved his position.

People had soon stopped questioning him. Little by little he had earned the respect of his whole department, until the point came where people turned to him and Ron for help and advice as opposed to the Head of their department, a Mr. Derek Berkley. An obnoxious piece of work, who had made Harry's live more than a little difficult.

He could not do much thought, Harry and Ron were the best in their department individually but as a team, they were almost unbeatable. Ron's strategizing capabilities and his ability to think on his feet had led them to have the one of the most number of solved cases ever in the department, considering they were also one of the youngest.

Harry waited for Ron to say something on the matter of his presence, but besides the continuous thumping the other was silent. Harry let the silence wash over him as he relaxed in his chair. One of the reasons he loved Ron was his ability to let Harry be when he wanted it. Ron had grown up from the jealous resentful boy who had left him stranded in the middle of the forest. The war had changed them all, mostly Ron, Hermione and Harry.

Ron and Hermione had finally started dating after the war. They had gone steady for a few months, before amicably calling it quits. They had loved each other and still did, were still best of friends, but they realised that they wanted very different things in life. Ron wanted someone to care for him and be there when he got home from a hard day of work. He had grown up with Molly and her way of doing things. Hermione had decided early on that she was no Molly. She wanted to join the ministry and work towards the rights of magical creature for which she had planned to study further in Magical law enforcement and the Magical laws. Harry had known that if anyone could do it, it would have been Hermione.

Ron had eventually moved on and was now dating a lovely girl he had met, Anna Kathley. It had been a coincidence meeting and one which Ron had not waited to take advantage of. The two had been going steady for two years now. Ron had actually been planning on proposing soon and had even gone to peruse a few ring shops, though he had not yet managed to find what he called the perfect ring.

Hermione on the other hand had been a surprise. It had been during one of her missions for equal rights for House elf's that had resulted in her going head to head with one Draco Malfoy. Hermione had bought the abuse the Malfoy family had doled on their house elves as evidence to her case but had resulted in outright war between the two. Harry and Draco had buried the hatched after the war. After everything he had gone through he had not had the energy to continue to fight, and neither had it seemed had Draco. The life debts going both ways had also helped the two to reconcile their differences. Draco had grown up from the snotty brat he had been to a mature man, who had seen the war in a way that only Harry could comprehend.

Both had seen the true darkness of humanity and the cruelty of Voldemort. Even Ron sometimes could not understand why Harry had taken to learning the dark arts after Hogwarts, though he had kept his silence on the matter. But Draco understood. You learn to fear the things that caused you pain, and sometimes the only way to fight the fear was to win against it. Draco had helped him in his endeavour and the two had developed a bond that even Hermione, with all her understanding had not comprehended. But Harry had hardly blamed her, she had had her own reason for hating the Malfoy family.

Harry had also known of the darkness that Hermione hid within herself, and he was one of the few people who had not been surprised when Draco and Hermione had admitted to dating each other. Draco had won their battle over house elves right, and along with it Hermione's heart. He had taken Hermione to manors around the world, showing her how house elves lived. Hermione learnt that a millennia of slavery was not going to be reduced by the passing of a single law. The only thing it would result is in more people hating her and her views. Not counting the fact that most house elves did not want to leave. What was a house elves worth if it was sent free and not to work. What was a house elf to do with the money if it was paid to work?

House elves were living, yes, but they were not human and did not think like humans. Working for the betterment of house elves was all well and good if one did not also argue to set them free. House elves joined a house by magic. The magic of the bond allowed the elf to be what they were meant to be. A free house elf would never be able to survive long. The house elves needed the bond to feel they were needed, and as such needed to be taught slowly and steadily instead of forced to be free with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Harry had admitted that Draco had a point even if he did not agree with it complete, not had Hermione for that matter. The two had worked together to resolve the matter and had become a force to be reckoned with. The power of the house of Malfoy (which had been restored due to Draco's efforts and his friendship with Harry), and the brilliance of Hermione had taken the Wizendagom by storm, leaving many to wonder on what had been created in its wake.

It had not taken Draco long to propose to Hermione. The two had decided to wait for marriage until their lives settled down but Harry knew that Draco would never let Hermione go.

As for himself, he had given his NEWTS exams privately at the ministry, while Ron had joined George at his shop and Hermione had to Hogwarts for her last year. Harry could not have imagined walking up the steps of Hogwarts knowing everything had changed. He would have seen the faces of the dead everywhere he looked. He had refused to put himself through that, and had hired tutors to help him finish his last year, to give his exams in private. Ron joining him for his studies had been a surprise, but Harry had known that Ron did not want to be left behind.

It had taken Ron a year longer, with him working at the shop part time to pass his NEWTS and join the academy.

Harry had started dating Ginny again the moment the war had been over. The two had seemed to pick up right where they left off. Harry had thought about telling Ginny what had happened in during the last year of the war, before he had decided against it. He did not need Ginny to know how deep the darkness within him had run, and how much he was afraid it had affected him.

They had been dating steadily for the last 5 years, not including the two in his sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts. Ginny had joined her favourite Quidditch team, the Hollywood harpies, right out of Hogwarts, despite Molly's wishes. He could sense though that Ginny had gotten tired of waiting for more and was hoping for a proposal during the spring holidays.

Harry had not told Ron the other reason for his running away from home. Ginny had started subtle about her wish to marry but was now outright asking what he planned to do and where there relationship was going. How could he explain to Ginny that he had no idea? Could they not go the way they were? The sex was great, and they could still live separate lives, but he did not know if he wanted to get married.

Harry had been surprised when he reached that conclusion. He had always thought that he would fall in love, get married and have two point oh kids by now. A perfect family. He had always wanted a perfect family. But he had changed. He could not imagine settling down. No one, but maybe Ron and Draco, knew how addicted he actually was to danger.

Getting married would mean getting home on time, keeping himself out of danger; he was still hearing Ginny scolding him in the background and she was only his girlfriend. Harry had lived his entire life waiting for the next shoe to fall. Having fought Voldemort since the age of eleven and then other criminals, one would think he would be tired of danger and fighting for his life.

Harry had realised after his first few mission after joining the aurors, how untrue that was. He lived for that thrill and the rush of adrenaline when he was chasing a criminal, the high of knowing he would have to use his wits and his skill to stay alive. Walking on the razor sharp point between death and living. Harry could feel his blood pumping just thinking about it. So no, he was not normal, he had known a long time ago that he was freaky as they came, but he had learnt to accept it.

No normal person could have gone through what he did and survived. He knew that he had Hermoine and Ron to thank for a lot of that, but living with Voldemort in his head had not been easy. He had never told anyone, how close he had come to actually conversing with that piece inside of him. No one would ever know how much Harry had wanted to give in to the darkness, to tell everyone to go to hell. Till this day he did not know how he found the strength to deny the darkness as he fought and survived.

Harry was cut from his musing when he heard the thud hit his table and the vibration travelled up his arms. He raised his head to look at Ron, who was looking at him pointedly, the small tennis ball, a gift from Hermione, still in his hand.

He waited for the other to speak, knowing that Ron was unable to be silent for long while Harry could ignore everything around him and remain silent despite any awkwardness that permeated the air, one of the main reasons he was one of the best interrogators at the Ministry.

Ron let out a humph, as he shook his head,

"Well? Are you going to tell me what got up your bum? You're lucky we don't have any new case or else you would have been either kicked out by now, or screaming in pain." Harry opened his mouth to refute, "Don't you dare deny it Harry! I can see you flinching every time you move your leg. You're still in pain and shouldn't be here, the doctors told you to give your muscles some rest, so tell me what happened at home, that you could not stand being there, otherwise I'm going to inform Kingsley, and he is going to inform Derek, and you know what happens then." Ron told him pointedly.

Harry resisted the urge to snarl, not sure whether at Ron or at the mentioned on their esteemed Head. When had Ron decided to butt in his business again? Ahh, since he was dating the man's sister. Dammit, he should not have mentioned Ginny when he told him about staying here. He moved restlessly and let out a hiss at the stab of pain. He waved at Ron to sit when it seemed the other was about to get up to help, and decided it was best to come clean,

"I don't know Ron, okay. Ginny has been…. Well… She wants us to get married!"

Harry waited for the reaction to his statement and got a bland, "So?"

Harry did not know how to do this, he had only ever dated two girls, including Ginny. How do you tell your best mate that you don't want to marry his sister? This was a bad idea, this was a very bad idea. Very, very bad. How on earth was he going to get out of this?

Ron seemed to cotton on that something was not right, "You guys _have_ been dating for about 7 years now Harry, so of course she wants to get married…. Don't you want to settle down by now? I know you always wanted to have kids and a family of your own, so why are you worried?"

Ron was astute enough to know that Harry was hiding something, but he did not see what the problem was.

Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair, ruffling the already messy hair.

"I don't want to get married Ron!" Harry blurted, without thinking too hard on the words.

Ron seemed to freeze before a spark erupted in his blue eyes, Harry knew that this was going to get messy. Oh how he did not want to deal with this now.

Harry was so grateful to hear the knock on the door that broke the thickening atmosphere that he could have kissed whoever was on the other side of the door,

"Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Berkley, who raised his eye at seeing Harry present in office, even though it was his off day.

The man sneered as he looked around the sparse room, "Potter, I thought you took the week off? What, Decide I can't do my job without you ragging at my back?"

Harry grit his teeth against the irritation that the man gave him. To be honest, the man would have been good at his job, if he ever did it. He had been an Auror during the war, one of the few who survived and had gotten the head Auror position due to being the most experienced. Despite being the most experienced the man had quickly learnt that Harry was better when it came to thinking on his feet and dealing with people. He had been in the thick of war and knew better than most.

So now, the man spent half his time putting Harry down then doing his actual work. Harry had grown under the influence of the Dursley's and Snape. Berkley was a yapping chuawah compared to them. Harry easily controlled his temper as he replied to the man, "Yes, I decided to finish up my paper work. What is it that you wanted Sir?"

Berkley seemed to be fighting with himself over something, "The Minister wants to see you in his office." He barked before banging the door behind him.

Harry stared at the close door unable to comprehend how the man had yet to be fired over his behaviour.

"I'll see you in a bit Ron."

Harry winced as he got up and moved towards the door, using his cane to support himself. He hesitated at the door when he heard Ron,

"Harry. If you don't want to marry Ginny, let her go. As her brother I want you to marry her and put an end to this nonsense. As your friend, I want you to let her go, if you can't give her what she needs. You helped me realise that Hermione and I would never work. If you want something else in life, don't let her drag you and stop breaking her heart every time her hopes are dashed. Do it once and get it over with."

Harry let the words wash over him as he left without saying a word. He needed to think about it. Ron was right. He needed to break up, but he could not stay in the Wizarding world with the backlash from the newspapers if he did so.

Harry limped across the corridor, cursing the distance he would have to travel as he entered the lift. He exited at the top corridor and walked across the marble hallway towards the secretary sitting at the end.

"The Minister has requested a meeting with me." Harry spoke.

The secretary, a young man who looked barely out of Hogwarts looked up from his papers with a smile, "Of course Mr. Potter, please go right in."

Harry nodded as he walked to the door on his right and knocked,

"Come in."

Harry hesitated briefly before opening the door and entering. He closed it behind him.

"Harry, sit. Get off that leg of yours." Kingsley reprimanded.

Harry nodded as he sat and stretched his leg so there was no strain to the healing muscle.

"What can I do for you Minister?" Harry asked.

"You know better than to call me that." Kingsley responded.

Harry waited for him to say more, but he seemed satisfied to sit back and observe Harry.

Harry felt his nerves twitch under the scrutiny. What did the Minister want from him?

"A very peculiar situation has arisen and it needs to be handled with delicacy."

Harry waited, curious what could have happened, "For years, the Ministry of Magic has had interaction with only the Prime Minister and the Royal Family. Only they are aware of our existence. It has recently been bough to our attention that in the last few decades, there had been a major change in the structure of the Muggle Government. What with Fudge and then the war, we did not know about that change. I have recently been informed that the Prime Minister is just the public face. The actual Muggle Government is a man. A man about whom we know nothing, and who it turns out had known nothing about us. We were contacted by this man to correct this folly. I arranged a meeting and gave him the basic that we tell every Prime Minister but-"

Harry sat at the edge of the seat, this was news to him. What could have happened?

"What did the man do?"

"It is not what he did, but what he said. He asked for information."

"About what?"

"Everything."

Harry looked at Kingsley and knew the other was working through something, "What do you mean everything? What does that include?"

"It includes everything. He asked for History books, and newspaper articles for the last century. I doubt the man could have read them all, but he asked for them. I was hesitant, but I had to oblige. I gave it to him. A week later he contacted me and told me he needed to have a meeting with you."

Harry spluttered at that, "Me?! Why me?"

Why on earth would the man want to meet him, he was an Auror, nothing more.

"How did he even find out about the wizarding world?" Harry further queried.

"Actually, that is our fault. We do not keep our-self updated on the muggle news and had not known about a case occurring in London until Mr Holmes bought it to our attention. There have been a two suicides, which seem related in London. It seems as if the victims took a poison and killed themselves. "

"Why would suicides make him suspicious?"

"Because they both happened the same way. The two people had no motivation to kill themselves, and no suicide note was found on their person."

"You are thinking _Imperious_."

"Yes, since both the victims were muggles, and were killed by taking a pill, we would never have realised. When Mr Holmes heard the prime minister mention how the deaths seemed like the curse he had heard about, he became curious. After a series of investigations he found about us and contacted me. Now since we assume that it is a wizard doing the killings, we need to have our aurors on it. When I mentioned that to him, he said he wanted you."

"So, I can just work the case with Ron, no problem. Why would the muggle want to _see_ me then?"

"Ahum. Well there is a little problem there actually."

Harry scowled at the minister, the man was hiding something, "What are you not telling me?"

"Mr Holmes has a brother who is a detective and is going to be working the case. According to Holmes, while his brother has not been directly involved yet, he will soon. We have been informed that if we take over, the brother will still follow and will only be more suspicious. He says that his brother is smart enough to figure out about our world. So to stop him, there is only one course to take."

Harry waited for the man to continue, knowing this was going to be bad news for him.

"And? What have you decided?"

Kingsley looked at him with steady eyes, "We have decided to send an Auror undercover. The Auror will join the local law enforcement team as a new assistant to the local detective. They will have the opportunity to assist in the case without causing any suspicion towards the Holmes brother. Mr. Homles has said that he will take care of all the paper work so that there are no inconsistencies in case the brother goes looking for information regarding the Auror."

Harry watched Kingsley shuffle uncomfortably and knew what he was going to say next,

"You want me to go undercover don't you? That is why this Mr. Holmes wants to meet me."

"Actually were it up to me, I would have sent you definitely. You are one of the few people qualified and having the required amount of knowledge of the muggle world. It was actually Mr. Holmes who asked for you. As I said I sent him articles and books of history and he came across your name. When I asked about sending an Auror undercover he demanded that you be the only one who come. He actually said a lot of things….. which I am not going to hash out. I am aware that you are on leave right now-"

"No!" Harry broke in before continuing calmly at the inquisitive look in the older man's eye, "I mean to say that this matter needs to be looked at as quickly as possible. Since it is the muggle world and it will not require a lot of running about chasing bad guys, I am sure that I can manage with the strain."

Kingsley looked at him, and he hoped that his other motivations were not coming through. This was perfect. It was too perfect. He was sure to find the cloud soon enough, now he just wanted to enjoy the silver lining. He could break up with Ginny and go on this mission in the muggle world. No one there would know him, the ministry would make sure to hide his coordinates so that his cover was not broken. No newspaper, no weeping Ginny to deal with, he was salivating just thinking about the freedom.

"Alright, if you are sure. I would still like you to have this injury checked by a mediwizard before you leave. Normally In undercover work you can inform one or two people inside the team to your whereabouts, but Mr. Holmes has requested that other than you and I, no one else be told of his position, the suicides and especially his brother. So I will be your point in contact in case of emergency. I want daily task reports. If possible do not let the Holmes brother have any one on one contact with the culprit. Mr. Holmes is sure that if the two meet, his brother will find everything there is to know about the man."

Harry was sure that his scepticism must have shown on his face, no one could tell everything about a man by spending a little time in their presence. Harry was good at reading people and knew it was a rare skill, he doubted a Muggle would be able to do much more than a simple reading,

"I know you are wondering how that is possible, believe me I had the same query and I asked…"

Harry waited for the other man to speak, and questioned when the other merely looked uncomfortable, "Kings?"

Kingley cleared his throat, "Mr. Holmes demonstrated how it could be done, but also informed me that regrettably his brother was better in doing it… "

Kingsley cut off Harry before he started to ask more questions, "No. Don't ask. You will see when the time comes, for now we need to make sure that you are completely cut off from the wizarding world. You will not be carrying a wand on your person and neither will you be getting too close to the brother. I will send you the details immediately. Learn them and burn them. You will be moving to a new muggle location at 10:00 am tomorrow, right after your check up and for Merlin's sake, don't do anything heroic, keeping your cover is fundamental."

Harry scowled at the warning, it was only once and he did save the girls life and complete the whole mission. He resisted to urge to mention that to Kingsley as he said his goodbyes and went to his office to clear out his desk. He had no idea how long he had to spend with the muggles and he had a meeting with this Mr. Holmes tomorrow. He had better refresh his muggle knowledge or else he was going to be caught out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _-Mycroft Holmes Office (Undisclosed location)-_

Harry sat in the sparse office and tried not to fidget, but damn if the man in front of him was as welcoming as an ice pack.

Harry knew that speaking first or showing any sort of uncomfortable vibes was going to get him in trouble so he used a decade of cultivated behaviour - from dealing with Snape - as a troublemaker to keep his slumped posture as he looked around the office.

His hands were in his pockets and his face showed nothing but interest. Keeping his face expressionless would show the other man that he knew how to control himself but showing a little would make it seem as if he was not hiding anything in the first place.

The silence stretched between them, the other sitting in his chair in the office and working on some documents, the scratching of the pen the only sound in the room. Mr. Holmes seemed not even aware of his presence but Harry had been under tougher conditions. Snape's silence had taught him never to try and fill the awkward gap and let it be. Mr. Holmes would be the first to speak, because Harry knew that the other man was very much aware and keeping an eye on Harry.

The silent contest was broken by the door to the office opening and the lady, who had introduced herself as Anthea -though he doubted that was her real name - and had shown him in the office earlier came striding in, her heels clicking against the marble floor. Harry watched her reach her boss's desk and could not help but look at her long legs, man, those were something. Her skirt was just short of being immodest and gave the most delicious view. He was so glad that he broke off with Ginny just before he left, otherwise he would have felt darn guilty about noticing another women's legs. He mentally flinched as he thought about the shit storm that he had left behind.

"These are the documents you asked for Mr. Holmes."

Holmes nodded as he took the offered documents without looking up from his sheets,

"And your next appointment has arrived."

"Send him in" Holmes spoke for the second time since Harry had entered the office. The man had a voice that spoke of years in the aristocracy. Harry recognised the tone of someone who had been born knowing they were better than everyone else. It also bought him memories of meeting Draco for the first time. He hoped Holmes helped him change his opinion of him otherwise Harry was not going to be very cooperative.

"Yes sir."

Harry watched as she crossed his chair to leave the office and decided to speak for the first time since he entered the office, his voice a lazy drawl, "So will the pretty lady ever tell me her _real_ name?"

Two pair of brown eyes snapped to him, one merely curious while the other shone with anger, as the voice snapped at him, "It is none of your concern what my name is. I have already told you." She perused him from head to toe, looking at his slumped posture and the smirk on his face, "And I very much doubt you will be here long enough to call me by any name."

She turned her back to him and left, the door closing with a soft snap. He knew she wished to bang the door but knew better. Harry felt a grin split his face as he looked towards Holmes again. The other raised his brow, "Whatever did you do you do make her so upset with you? She never loses control enough to snap at anyone."

His tone was bland but Harry had seen genuine curiosity in those eyes before they had glinted over.

Harry smirked, "I flirted shamelessly with her ever since I saw her gorgeous legs behind her desk."

Harry would have missed the flashing grin had he not attuned all his attention on the other man to catalogue his expressions and body language, "I see" came the response.

Any further discussion was halted the moment there was a knock at the door. Harry watched as Holmes lost the little warmth Harry had noticed in him as he spoke, "Come in."

The door opened and a tall man with light brown hair walked in. The other man blinked at seeing him there, "Hi"

Harry raised his eyebrow at the clear nerves the other man was exhibiting, "Hi", he replied with a smile. Harry saw an earnestness in the other man that he was sure he had possessed a long time ago. The kindness and naivety that came with believing the best in everyone.

Holmes took their attention as he cleared his throat, "Ahum, Inspector Lestrade, this is a Mr. Harry Potter. Mr. Potter, this is Inspector Greg Lestrade of the London Police department."

Harry got up and shook the other man's hand, surprised now that the man was an inspector. Those eyes did not belong on someone who saw blood and death on a regular basis. There was definitely more to this man that met the eye.

Holmes then decided to take up the reins, "As you may know Lestrade, with these new suicides, it is only a matter of time that my brother involves himself in the case. I have no doubt that it is going to be troublesome for all of us. Although I make sure to have an eye on the situation, I have come up with a better plan. Mr. Potter is an active agent with the MI 5 and has been reassigned as an undercover agent in your department. He will be your assistant but his main job is keeping an eye on my brother and keeping him safe. Do you have any questions?"

Holmes tone implied that he did not care if the other had questions or problems, it was going to happen exactly the way he wanted it.

Lestrange was definitely a brave man to take the offer seriously, "Do you have the necessary background for him? Also, how will I explain to my colleagues this decision considering they are aware that we don't need another person on our force?"

Holmes looked at the man with flinty eyes before taking a folder in front of him and sliding it across to the other man, "This has all the information that you will need. As for an excuse, I am sure you can come up with a reason why you need an assistant who can also work in the field with you, considering there have been two suicides in your current case and you are no closer to finding what happened. I am sure my brother will be in contact with you soon, just make sure Mr. Potter is integrated by then. You are both excused."

Holmes then turned back towards his papers, uncaring of the other two. They sat there stumped at the sudden dismissal. The click of heels had Harry standing up before Holmes assistant, the lovely Anthea, entered the office.

"Please follow me both of you."

The two shuffled behind her, Harry finally getting his bearing after that really strange meeting, his still did not know what Kingsley meant when he said that the other man would know. He was still in the dark. Well, he guessed his reaction would be natural then, whenever he finds out what _that_ is.

Harry moved ahead so that he was by Athea's side,

"So beautiful lady, is your boss always that cold?" Harry asked silkily, hoping to get a rise of the other women. He grinned in triumph when he heard the grinding of teeth and a stumble from behind him. The Inspector had obviously heard.

"That. Is none of your concern. I am sure that Mr. Holmes tired of you very quickly", she said with a smirk, the flint in her eyes giving away her irritation.

By then they had reached the exit. Harry let the older man pass as he turned towards Anthea just as she was about to turn, "Oh, hey, guess what?" At her raised brow, he just smirked, "I got the job."

Harry did not wait to see her reaction as he turned and left, a chuckle escaping his mouth at the older man's expression.

"What did she do you to?" Lestrade asked.

"Nothing much. I just don't like people who are stuck up. I enjoy annoying them until they lose their cool." Harry answered truthfully. If he was going to be working closely with this man, then he had to be as open and honest as he could.

"Listen, Inspector Lestrade, I apologise for the way Holmes handled informing you of my transfer, he was far ruder and abrupt than he needed to be."

Lestrade just smiled and shook his head, "Call be Greg. Beside don't worry. I have dealt with the elder Holmes for as long as I have known the younger one. He has always been that way, so I am used to it."

Harry quirked his brow at that, really, hmmmm.

"Well than call me Harry. I am sure we can work well together."

"I hope so, though I have to warn you, my team is a bit… well….. hmm. They can be _difficult._ Plus when Sherlock joins us, as I am sure he will, things are going to get even more.. _difficult._ So I want you to be prepared for a little hostility. They are not always quick to change or really that accepting of it."

Harry looked at Greg's worried face and could not help but like him, "Don't worry. I am good with change and _difficult_ people and situations."

After having dealt with the Dursleys, Snape, Malfoy's and Voldemort, he doubted there was anything he would not be able to handle.

* * *

A/N: I love reviews and since this is just an experiment I might discontinue this story if there are not a lot of people interested (^_^).


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